Ethan

by Dale Mayer

  Making a sudden decision, she crossed over the rise and skidded down the far side, swearing at the pain that rubbed against her feet and opened a million little slices along her soles. She hit the driveway and kept going until she saw what appeared to be a huge building ahead of her. But instead of going in the front, she headed around to the back.

  There wasn’t a sound. It was like a ghost town. But then she remembered what the cops had done here, so maybe no one was left.

  There was a door. Hesitantly she reached for it. When the knob turned under her hand and the door opened, she stepped inside, loving the cool air. She crept into what appeared to be a large open room with several smaller rooms behind it. There were no lights on, no sounds. The place appeared to be empty.

  She did a quick search and found no one. Then she did a closer search, looking for anything she could use. An old water bottle was on the floor. She snatched that up. Now all she needed was water. Continuing to check, she found a pair of socks tossed into a corner, a big hole at the heel of one of them. She didn’t care; her feet would be only half as big as the person who had worn these socks.

  She carefully placed them on her feet, almost crying out in relief at the soft padding. She put weight on her feet again. That was an improvement. Now all she needed were boots, water and a phone, but she couldn’t find anything.

  Back in the main room again, she checked what appeared to be a desk and found a cell phone. But it was dead. She popped out the battery and left it on the desk for a moment. Had it been left behind in the chaos with the police?

  She knew, if she gave the battery a moment before putting it back in again, she might get a few seconds. Maybe enough to get a call through—if there was any cell service out here.

  Hey, she’d try anything. She popped the battery back in, her mind working as to who to call. It would be tough to get 9-1-1. They asked so many questions she’d have no time. She hadn’t memorized Ethan’s number. How about her own? She dialed her phone and waited. When the voicemail kicked in, she gave a quick report as to where she was and what had happened. Just as she finished, the phone died.

  She stared at it in her hand and then pocketed it. She didn’t know who it belonged to. But, if it had anything to do with this place, maybe the police could do something with it.

  She wandered the rest of the huge compound, looking for anything that could help her. She did find a small kitchen and running water in the main building. Thirstily, she drank her fill and then filled her bottle. Even if she could locate a bicycle, that would help. She did find shoes, but they were too big to keep on her feet. Other than that, she was pretty well done here.

  With a final look around, she headed to the entranceway to the property. Just then she saw a plume of dust in the distance. She scampered up the side of the rise again and disappeared over the edge. Had she made it before they saw her?

  The vehicle sped in and hit the brakes. As it came to a stop, she heard doors opening and then more doors opening.

  She winced, picked up her feet and started to run. The socks helped a lot. Her feet were sore, but worse than that was the option of getting caught by these guys. Not again. She had very little choices of places to hide. But she’d seen where the plume of dust had come from and knew the general direction that the road would go.

  She headed off cross-country toward the road. She just had to stay out of sight. She knew she didn’t have much time. Five to ten minutes at the most. Then they’d be all over the place, searching for her. When that happened, she would be in deep shit.

  Hearing the phone ring, Ethan ran back into Cinn’s bedroom. He’d been searching the top floor, looking for anything. Her phone on the night table continued to ring. Just as he got to it, it stopped. He picked it up, unlocked it and listened as the phone said he had one voicemail. To hear the voicemail, press 11.

  He pressed 11 and heard Cinn’s voice. His blood ran cold. When the message was cut off, he wasn’t sure what to think. Had the phone died? Or had she been captured? Or had she been forced to say that to lure him into a trap? Not that it mattered because he was obviously going. He ran downstairs to tell Flynn. His voice terse, he explained the message.

  Ethan pulled out his own phone and called Levi. “I’m heading home to get my gear and switch out the dogs,” he called out, running to his truck.

  “I’ll track your GPS and follow you,” Flynn called after him, “as soon as the cops arrive to take this asshole off my hands.”

  At home, Ethan freed Sentry and Bella from the truck bed, figuring out the best plan for this rescue. They all fast-walked straight through to the backyard, Sentry and Bella at his side. Sally barked inside, wanting to join them. But it was too soon for her. Bart had been outside in the fenced-in backyard all this time and came toward Ethan. He frowned, not sure he could handle all three. Sentry, of course, was the wild card. Maybe Ethan would leave him behind this time.

  Grabbing Bart and Bella, securing Sentry inside the fence, Ethan returned to the truck, put both dogs into the bed, grabbed his SAR vest and turned around to see Flynn standing right behind him. “How did you get away so fast from the cops and their questioning?”

  Flynn smirked. “Told them that you were nearby in state land, and I would grab you real quick for them.” At that, Flynn laughed. “They didn’t leave our bad guy to follow me. … We’ll explain later when we have more time.”

  “Humph,” was all Ethan murmured, but his expression said, Good job.

  “What are you going to do?” Flynn asked as he followed Ethan to enter his rental property.

  “I’m going after her,” Ethan said. “I know the property, where the drug bust was earlier. There’s a way to get in under the electric fence, if we want to try that way in.”

  “I thought the police cleaned out that place?”

  “They did,” Ethan said tersely. “That doesn’t mean the drug runners didn’t move back in. Obviously she thinks that’s where she is, so I have to go find out.”

  “If she got free, she could be anywhere around the countryside,” Flynn said.

  “I know. That’s why I have the dogs.”

  “You should take Sentry too,” Flynn said.

  “Why is that?”

  “Because these men have guns. They can take out the dogs. But the more dogs there are, the harder it will be for them to shoot them all.”

  Ethan considered that, then nodded. “You have a point. Still two are enough to handle. Although Sentry might be the better tracker in this instance. Let me grab a medical kit, ropes and more water.” He changed his shoes for hiking boots and then grabbed his emergency supplies vest—the one from his truck, the one he’d used on search-and-rescue so often, yet not in the last several years. Then he walked into the kitchen and filled the water bottles from his vest. There was no way to know how badly hurt she was or how dehydrated.

  His mind raced through the possibilities of what he would need. He moved with the same care he was known for. He’d done this type of rescue many, many times. What he didn’t have was weapons. He turned to look at Flynn. “I need a weapon.”

  Flynn raised an eyebrow. Then he nodded. “I have a piece in the truck.” He disappeared.

  Ethan packed up and loaded the rest of the gear he needed in the front of the truck. Sentry understood something was going on, and he was being excluded. He bucked like a crazy man, trying to jump up and over the fence. Ethan came back with a heavy leash and stepped out into the back door.

  Sentry ran toward him. But first they had to come to a meeting of minds. Ethan stood there, arms crossed, leash in his hand as Sentry tried to get past him. Sentry growled and howled and kicked up a fuss. He really did not like to be left behind. Then Ethan held out his hand with the leash. “Sit.”

  Sentry stared at him, but his butt went down, and his head went up. Ethan clipped on the leash, told him to heel and then walked him through the house, out to the back of the truck. He opened the tailgate and let the dog jump in to join the others, th
en moved Bart into the backyard. “Not this time, boy.”

  Now with two dogs aboard, Ethan went to the front of the truck. He should have a big suburban to carry the dogs or at least a canopy on his truck to keep them safe.

  Flynn walked toward them, talking on the phone. He handed Ethan a small handgun, service-issue, and several clips. “I’m coming behind you,” he said. “Levi is on his way as well.”

  “Tell him to contact Sergeant Mendelsson,” Ethan said. “He’s the man I was with yesterday morning.”

  Flynn nodded. “Will do. Remember. You’re not alone anymore, dude.” And he turned and hopped into his truck.

  While Ethan watched, Flynn did a quick turnaround, taking off to the left. Ethan drove up to the highway and took a right. He might not be alone anymore, but he sure as hell didn’t understand exactly what he did have. Things had gone from slow to top speed in no time. And poor Cinn had been caught in the middle.

  Just like the dogs had been.

  Ethan had taken on a lot all at once. But he realized, as he headed out toward the countryside where she was probably on the run, he was the best person to find her.

  Both dogs knew her scent, as Ethan had remembered to grab the jacket that she had been wearing the day before. She’d worn it to the hospital, carefully draped on her shoulders, and, even better, it had some of her blood on it. If the dogs could find her, they would.

  Ethan drove to where he had parked last time. He pulled the truck into the hollows behind a rise so it couldn’t be seen, or at least he thought it couldn’t be seen. Considering somebody had tracked him back to Cinn’s place, he wasn’t so sure about that now. He hopped out as his phone rang. “Ethan,” he said, his voice terse.

  “Ethan, it’s Levi. We have a team of four men coming in your direction. I need you to stay in contact with them.”

  “I’ve just parked. I’m unloading the dogs now.”

  “Is that wise?”

  “This is what I do,” Ethan said. “The dogs will track her in no time.”

  “But will they save her, or will they take her out?” Levi asked, his voice worried.

  “Good question,” Ethan said. “I guess this is a good trial. If I have to, I’ll kill them. But it’s not what I want to do.”

  “You could also be going up against more of their trainee dogs.”

  “That could be both good and bad,” Ethan said. “Don’t forget. These animals were abused.”

  “Oh, I remember. That’s why I’m worried. Go get her,” Levi said, his voice calm and steady. “We’ll be right behind you.”

  Chapter 12

  She didn’t know when the pain and the lack of oxygen took over. But she was on autopilot, just moving one step to the next step. Somewhere along the line she realized anybody driving on the road would see her now. The ridge was long gone; it was just flat cross-country terrain. She approached a bend in the road up ahead. She didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. She twisted behind her to see a vehicle driving toward her, dust billowing out behind it. There was a second plume of dust, although the vehicle creating it was hidden by the first.

  She hit the ground. She wasn’t sure what to do. If she kept running, they’d probably see her. She had very few places to hide. But there were enough hollows and dips that, if she lay completely still, she might not be seen. She was still several hundred yards from the road. As she glanced back, she noted the two vehicles still had a ways to go. She bounced to her feet and darted cross-country away from the road again.

  A clump of trees was up ahead and several bushes. She expected, if they had seen her, they’d figure that she’d race there for cover. But she had to do anything to keep hidden.

  As she tripped into a creek bed, a dry hollow, she realized this was the perfect answer. She raked the dirt on top of her, and, with a couple rocks placed carefully around her face, she left her mouth and her injured head open between them, while covering up most of her. Her auburn hair, her pale skin, her freckles, even her beige T-shirt, they were all camouflage-worthy attire for her right now. Here she lay, her breathing shallow and heavy. She drank the last of her water, then lay still.

  In the distance she could hear voices. She knew they had seen her.

  “Where the hell did she go? Did you see her?”

  “I saw her running about a hundred yards off,” one of the men called. “Just keep walking. Keep walking.”

  She didn’t dare breathe heavily. She lay as still as she could, frozen and waiting. She could hear footsteps in the distance, men still talking. God help her if one of them stepped on her.

  “Search to the left. I saw her run that way.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” one of the men said. “There’s no sign of her anywhere.”

  “If she was smart, she went for the trees,” said yet a different man.

  “Yeah, but, of course, that’s the first place we would look for her,” another man said.

  Inside, she thought to herself, Please, just keep walking. Just keep walking. She knew, if they found her, it would be the end. This time, if they recaptured her, she’d have a much worse time escaping. Chances were they’d kill her.

  “Okay, I’ll head off to the trees. You guys keep scanning this area. Just keep walking. She couldn’t have gone far.”

  “There’s no place she can hide,” one of the men said. “Look at this place. It’s just dirt and rocks.”

  “She was wily enough to get free. She could have other tricks up her sleeve.”

  She could hear the men grumbling, but one man’s voice got fainter. Probably heading for the copse of trees she had avoided. She knew they’d head there. Any sane person would. She figured she was the last person anybody would consider sane. She kept wishing for Ethan to hurry and find her.

  And then the fear crept in again that he hadn’t heard her message. That was so not what she needed to think now.

  All of a sudden a couple heavy crunches of booted feet on rocks came close to her. From her left, one of the men called out, “Did you see anything?”

  A man, almost upon her, called back, “Nah, there’s nothing out here. Besides, if she is, she might as well stay out here and die. The desert will kill her in no time.”

  She winced. But he was right. Just because she’d escaped, didn’t mean she was safe. The footsteps crossed in front of her as the man headed over to join the other men. She didn’t dare move. And, no matter how curious she was, no way could she raise her head and remain unseen. All she could do was wait. Hopefully these guys would leave, and the right man would arrive.

  But she didn’t know how long that would take. She listened intently as the men’s voices faded into the distance, and she heard a vehicle start up and take off again. She relaxed and thought that maybe, just maybe, she was free and clear.

  The sun beat down, but, under the dirt, it was not too bad. She didn’t dare get up, just in case it was a trick. Some of the men could have driven off and left the others to stand watch. She lay here in the heat of the sun and could feel her eyes growing weary.

  Eventually she told herself, she’d nap to regain her strength, just for a few minutes.

  And she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

  Ethan froze as he watched figures in the distance. Vehicles parked, armed men running around, but Ethan didn’t see a woman. He let his gaze relax, becoming accustomed to the scene in front of him. He tried not to search for anything but rather have movement jar his awareness. He couldn’t guarantee she was out here, but it was likely, given the location. He knew Levi was heading toward the main part of the camp. But Ethan saw no sign of Levi’s vehicle, at least not from where he stood.

  He was more concerned about the men, four that he could count, combing the acres of land between him and the next rise. He couldn’t hear any sounds from this distance, but just their actions, their frantic movements, were enough to get reactions from the dogs. Bella and Sentry both stood, their backs bristled, a slight growling coming from deep in their throats.
Ethan judged the distance between him and the gunmen to be a couple miles. Bella stood eagerly at attention, willing for whatever was coming.

  The four gunmen continued in their search for Cinn, unaware of Ethan.

  On that note, Ethan drank some of his water, then clipped it onto his belt, let Sentry choose the direction and started to run. Every step caused pain in his stump, but he ignored it. Cinn was going through something so much worse. Besides, Ethan had been working hard at training his injury.

  The dogs were also injured but ran eagerly at his side. Both leashed, both running level with him. He appreciated the training that had gone into their original care. He was just damn sorry they had ended up with somebody who had turned them into killers.

  From where Ethan was, he didn’t think he was visible, but again any movement on the horizon like this could catch the bad guys’ attention. In the distance a movement caught his eyes. He turned to see a fox running away from him. He smiled and whispered, “Go, fella. We wish you well.”

  He turned his attention back to the men, seeing them split, two going one way, two heading toward the copse of tress. Most people in Cinn’s position would head for the trees, hoping for a hiding place that would keep them safe. But, because it was the first place the men were likely to look, it was also, in this case, probably the worst thing she could do. But she wasn’t a fool.

  He kept running. It took a good three minutes to get his breathing even.

  The terrain was rough, unsteady, his footsteps landing, occasionally rolling ever-so-slightly. It ate up his energy, this cross-country running. But it was necessary. He kept his eyes trained on the men ahead. They stopped, checked out the surrounding trees, and just then he heard a shout. The two closest to him turned and headed toward the others, all now heading for the copse of trees.

  Ethan was still at least a mile out.

  He kept up the pace, jogging steadily, needing a bit of good luck getting close without them noticing his approach. Just then the four men broke from the trees, stopped and stared. He hated to, but he stopped, minimizing the dust rising up around him. Crouched, he peered just over the rocks to see the men staring in his direction. He waited, the dogs at his side panting heavily, their gazes locked on the men in front of them. Good. They should know exactly who it was they were up against.